Source: http://youtu.be/fu6hlHn5tlI
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Bollywood Star Remakes Himself Into TV Conscience
Aamir Khan spent more than two decades as one of India’s most admired movie stars, appearing in a string of socially conscious but mainstream films.
Now he has gained even more fame as the host of a popular weekly
television show that is calling attention to some of the country’s
longstanding social problems.
Mr. Khan’s show, “Satyamev Jayate,” or “Truth Alone Prevails,” is taped
in front of a live audience, and is something more than a talk show but
short of “60 Minutes.” Mixing Oprah-style interviews on a couch with
short reports from the field, it tries to shine a spotlight on festering
issues like dowries, domestic violence and the indignities of the caste
system.
In just three months, the Sunday morning show has become a national
phenomenon, distributed in seven languages and drawing a cumulative
audience of nearly 500 million, according to Star India, the network
that broadcasts it.
One of the early programs, in May, provided a vivid example of the
show’s influence. Mr. Khan, 47, highlighted a seven-year-old sting
operation by two TV reporters who had broadcast film of more than 100
doctors offering to illegally abort female fetuses. While the legal
cases against them languished in India’s notoriously slow courts, the
doctors continued to practice medicine.
But just days after Mr. Khan featured the topic on his show, the top
elected leader from the State of Rajasthan, where the journalists did
their investigation, met with Mr. Khan and promised to have the cases
transferred to special courts that expedite decisions.
That kind of swift response has made Mr. Khan — variously described as
India’s Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney or Bono — increasingly sought
after by policy makers, social advocates and others who see him as a
savior or champion for their causes. In addition to meeting with the
chief minister of Rajasthan, he testified before a committee of
Parliament about the country’s health care system after he did a program
on medical malpractice. And last week he met with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to press for a government ban on the practice of having
human waste cleaned and carried away by people born into the lowest
rungs of the caste system.
He also has a weekly column in The Hindustan Times, takes calls on a
weekly national radio show and is frequently interviewed on prime-time
TV news shows.
“Mr. Khan is doing the nation a service by raising important issues
which need greater public debate,” said Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, president
of the Public Health Foundation of India, which is financed by the
government and nonprofit organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
Shyam Benegal, a respected TV and film director and a former member of
the upper house of Parliament, said Mr. Khan had done what many others
had failed to do — reach the Indian mainstream by using Bollywood tropes
in the service of larger causes. His shows always include musical
performances and frequently show him crying as he interviews his guests.
“This is effective because Aamir Khan is a film star,” said Mr. Benegal,
who once made shows for the state-owned broadcaster, Doordarshan. “And
he is a pretty good P.R. man for himself, as well. And all those things
help.”
Star India, owned by the News Corporation, is India’s largest network,
and Mr. Khan’s show is simulcast on Doordarshan and a handful of other
channels. His fame has helped attract sponsors like India’s largest
cellphone carrier, Airtel, and the foundation arm of one of its largest
companies, Reliance Industries.
In an interview earlier this month, Mr. Khan likened his approach for
the show to his 2007 movie, “Taare Zameen Par” or, literally, “Stars on
Earth.” The film, which he directed and starred in, told the story of a
family’s and school’s inability to meet the needs of a dyslexic child.
“If I tell you I am making a film on dyslexia, how many people are going
to walk into the theater?” he said in a discussion at the Taj Land’s
End, a five-star hotel frequented by Bollywood stars. “No one will walk
in: ‘Oh, come let’s watch a movie about dyslexia.’ So, I have to tell
you it’s a film about childhood and children.”
In the same way, he said, Satyamev Jayate does not announce in advance the subjects he intends to cover.
There is little in Mr. Khan’s upbringing to suggest he would end up
hosting such a show. He dropped out of college to pursue his movie
career and his first breakout film, in 1988, was a popular Bollywood
musical in which his character elopes with his girlfriend because their
families do not approve of their relationship.
About a decade ago, however, Mr. Khan began to go down a different path.
In the 2001 Oscar-nominated movie “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India,”
Mr. Khan played a villager in colonial India who challenges a British
regiment to a cricket match to determine whether his village must pay an
extortionate land tax, or lagaan.
Some entertainment industry analysts trace the change to his
relationship with Kiran Rao, an assistant director on “Lagaan” who
became Mr. Khan’s second wife. Ms. Rao is known for eclectic interests
and for making films that do not hew to the well-worn Bollywood formula.
Since “Lagaan,” Mr. Khan has starred in and or produced movies that deal
with issues like political corruption, indebted farmers and India’s
regimented higher education system. Most popular Indian actors like Shah
Rukh Khan and Salmaan Khan, who are not related to Mr. Khan but with
whom he is often compared, have largely shied away from such subjects.
“It’s hard for people to remember now that in the 1990s, that he was a
huge star — one of the three Khans,” said Rachel Dwyer, a professor of
Indian cultures and cinema at the University of London. “It’s in this
decade that he has remade himself.”
Mr. Khan said he did not see “Lagaan” as a turning point for his career.
But he acknowledges that Ms. Rao, whom he described as “full of life,”
has helped him become less insular.
While his show has won much praise, it has also been criticized for its
sometimes simplistic treatment of complicated subjects. The Indian
Medical Association has protested its portrayal of doctors, which it
says casts doctors as money-grubbing and unprofessional based on a few
errant examples.
Other critics have charged that the show is too meek about identifying
culprits. For example, it did not name the doctors accused of offering
the illegal abortions.
Mr. Khan said he never intended to make an investigative show similar to
“60 Minutes” and argued that he was having a much bigger impact by
putting troublesome issues in front of mainstream audiences in a way
that seeks to shame them out of their apathy. “We are not mincing our
words,” he said, but added in Hindi: “Our attitude is not to blame this
or that person. We are all to blame. First, you have to understand
that.”
Both Mr. Khan and Uday Shankar, the chief executive of Star India,
declined to provide financial details about the show, other than to say
Mr. Khan’s production company is paid 35 million rupees ($630,000) for
each of the 13 episodes of the first season, which ends on Sunday. Both
say they would like to do another season, but will wait a few months to
make a decision.
In the meantime, some of Mr. Khan’s supporters have suggested that he
run for elected office, which has often served as a sinecure for Indian
film celebrities. Mr. Khan denies any interest in politics.
“He could definitely make a good politician,” Mr. Benegal, the
filmmaker, said. But he added: “I think, ‘Why should he?’ He has already
been successful in politics now without being in mainline politics."
Article by: VIKAS BAJAJ
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Friday, 6 July 2012
Aishwarya Rai: Superwoman or a Demure Diva?
Charisma is a quality difficult to define. More often than not when your mind is searching for that right word to describe an indefinable quality about someone, ‘charisma’ is what your brain comes up with. Everyone who has known Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan vouches for her charismatic presence.
But that is not all that makes the model-turned-actress a diva. It’s a lot more. After the delivery of her daughter, Aaradhya, seven months ago (November 16), she has received a lot of negative publicity for failing to lose her post-pregnancy weight as is apparently “required” of a public figure. Any other top-notch actress, known for her beauty and petite form, would’ve been affected by the hullabaloo, may have even decided to drop out of a brand appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, with internet and news pages full of nasty stories about her weight gain.
But not Ash.
The French Riviera, where narrow waistlines and designer outfits compete to make the statement of the year, there was this delighted mother and proud woman who posed for the shutterbugs with her usual aplomb in a fitted Elie Saab gown, flashing her 1,000-watt smile that screamed to all her detractors: “Go to hell”.
Says director Sanjay Leela Bhansali about one of his favourite actresses, “Aishwarya’s biggest strength is that she is headstrong, but in a beautiful demure way, a combination very few are blessed with.” Bhansali is known to be a perfectionist, someone who doesn’t let any actor deliver short of the character he has created in his mind. It cannot be just co-incidence that he keeps on zeroing in on Ash to portray some of his best female protagonists, be it Nandini of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Paro of Devdas, or Sofia D’Souza of the more recent Guzaarish.
It has been almost two decades since she won the Femina Miss India crown, followed by the Miss World title. But little has changed over the years when it comes to her ethereal beauty, dazzling smile and her determination to be known as one of the best actresses in the country.
Designer Sandeep Khosla of the Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla duo, says, “The first thing that strikes someone about Aishwarya is her breath-taking physical beauty. She truly is heart-stoppingly gorgeous. But physical beauty is only a facet of divadom. To be a true goddess, one must possess something truly unique — a quality that remains indefinable but consists of allure, attitude, and above all, ownership. You must own the space you occupy.”
Ash does that in every possible way. A few years ago when she was asked about possibly taking up the role of a superwoman, she had said: “Why in future? I am already a superwoman in real life. Ask any married woman and she will agree to my answer.”
Today, after the birth of her daughter, she has taken detractors head-on and shown them that no amount of criticism can put her down. From donning designerwear to displaying a wider waist, she does not back off, or try to live up to someone else’s idea of a woman.
Photographer Dabboo Ratnani, who has known Ash since her beauty pageant days, explains, “Ash never gives up. She will always push the envelope, whether it’s a photoshoot, a role in a film or real life. She has achieved so much, but she is never complacent or arrogant. In fact, she’s as friendly as she was at the beginning of her career.”
But don’t confuse demureness with weakness. Aishwarya’s strength lies in her steely resolve and silent determination, which people who know her talk about. Bhansali swears by her calmness, but also admires her strong headedness that makes her demand more out of her characters. She believes dignity lies in silence, and just when you think you’ve cornered her with bullying, she pulls out a masterstroke. The mark of a true diva.
Source: http://idiva.com/news-entertainment/aishwarya-rai-superwoman-or-a-demure-diva/13689
Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek do not plan to 'display' Aaradhya
Bachchan fans and the global media has been falling over themselves trying to catch a glimpse of brown-eyed and 'strawberry' lookalike Aaradhya. Everyone has been lapping up any scrap of information that can be gleaned from any source. However, there have only been little snippets that have been coming the way of the public from the family members.
Recently, Aaradhya's father and Bollywood actor, Abhishek Bachchan while promoting his upcoming fim 'Bol Bachchan' spoke candidly about the family's intentions regarding the precious Beti B.
The parents, that's Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, feel that their seven-month-old daughter is not an "item to be displayed". They claim they have not been hiding their daughter since her birth on November 16, 2011, but, at the same time, they don't want to show off their daughter to the public or release images. They want to give their daughter a normal childhood.
"I am not comfortable with that, I don't need to show her off. She is not an item that she has to be put up to display. She is a child and Aishwarya and I would like her to grow up as normal as possible," Abhishek told Indian new agency Press Trust of India.
Father Abhishek probably understands what Aaradhya is likely to face all her life. After all, he too is a star son, considering that he is the offspring of Bollywood stalwarts like Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan. He told the news agency: "I do understand that her parents and grandparents are public figures but she is not yet and let her enjoy that. I have grown up in this industry and have been in this position so I understand the curiosity."
Meanwhile, Aishwarya has taken a long hiatus from acting and has been looking after her daughter's needs from Day 1.
Aishwarya and Abhishek did not even hire a nanny for their baby. Abhishek spends quality time with the baby when Aishwarya has to make a rare appearance to keep her brand endorsement commitments or a social-do that she cannot ignore.
Aishwarya's mother has been filling in whenever Aishwarya has travelled on work - to Dubai and Cannes - recently.
Other members of the family have also been taking their turn to look after and play with the growing toddler. Big B recently wrote in his bolg Bigb.bigadda.com: "Ever realized playing with the 'little one' for just a few minutes could be equivalent to an entire two hour workout in the gym! Child is the father of man."
Now, the fans already know that Aaradhya is a tall girl for her age and she is an active toddler. So, it is not surprising that she is giving her grandpa a good workout.
SOURCE: http://www.emirates247.com/bollywood/buzz/aishwarya-rai-abhishek-do-not-plan-to-display-aaradhya-201
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Saturday, 30 June 2012
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